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My pearly whites

I sat down to write an entirely different post, but I just can’t get away from the one thing on my mind today. Teeth, our precious teeth. I always get great reviews on my teeth quality and strength from my dentist, in spite of my total flossing negligence. I attribute that to our great diet during the last 4 years. Yet I had a lingering issue from a past dentist during my standard-American-diet years, who gave me some bad advice which I followed in my naivete: an unnecessary root canal. Lately it’s been bothering me so I had it pulled. That’s right, a tooth yanked out of my skull.

Although I was sure it was the right thing to do to prevent long-term strain on my immune system, nothing felt more wrong during the procedure. I had to resist the urge to pop up out of that chair and run like the dickens. Today I’m in mourning and full of questions. Was that a good idea? Should I have just dealt with the occasional dull pain of the root-canaled tooth until it became a real problem I couldn’t ignore? What if I don’t want to go back to get the implant- could I live with this thing in my mouth which is basically a denture forever (the answer to that is a loud NO!). But is an implant better than a root-canaled (ie: infected) tooth better? Many holistic dentists say yes, though not all, and that was my gamble also.

The Dr. put my tooth in an envelope for me to look at later- afraid I’ll faint, I’ve yet to open it. I want the ache in my upper jaw to go away. I want to be able to eat real food again. I want this damn thing out of my mouth! So I’m probably going to go through with the implantation 6 months from now, but until then I’ll be in the process of getting used to the new contours of my mouth, either the gaping hole or the denture while trying to eat real foods. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson- again.

What does all my whining mean for you? Take care of your teeth, and when necessary read lots and lots of research before letting anyone mess with your mouth or any part of you for that matter. So today, I leave you with a list of three dental resources that I love. Enjoy, and take care of those pearly whites!

hey gena, i know this is way late, but gmail put all your blogs in my “social folder” which i didn’t know i had….i hope your mouth is better accustomed to the new contours….i did not have an implant when i had my molar removed (fell apart). so, when i eat crispy crunchy things, they jab into my gums and i often have pain and swelling because of the tender gums. not fun!

i was also wondering about your take on fluoride. i am ready to make my own without fluoride, but there is this thing called xylitol which is the new cavity protector. what say you about both of these?